Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
Voyages in Sakuraland part 2
May 1st
Bleary eyed from 2 hours sleep I stumbled into the taxi at Niigata ferry terminal. I can't say I saw much of Niigata aside from the train station and the usual apartment blocks and hotels.
The first train to Aizu Wakamatsu wasn't until 8.20 so I had more than 2 hours wait, time enough to get some breakfast and a doze in the waiting room. I dozed on the train for the first 20 mins or so as we left the city.
The sight of the first blooming sakura trees woke me up- finally some spring colours (very much missing from Sapporo). We wound up through the mountains following a large river. The journey was like passing though another time in Japan, old wooden houses and straw hatted villagers working in the fields, an old shrine in a cedar forest and a wild monkey munching by the trackside and everywhere dots of pink and flurries of pink. That and the hordes of camera's...there were crowds of middle aged/ elderly men with more camera's and tripods than any press conference crowded at stations and bridges and the like. I fairly certain that the train was a perfectly normal train so why all the uber train spotters?
As we approached the Aizu Wakamatsu I got that usual faint feeling of dissappointment you get in Japan, all you could see were concrete hotels and parking lots, not a sign of the old houses or samurai past, the town is famous for. As I had arrived earlier than check in I dumped my bags in the lockers and headed off to the town bus
Most people got off at the castle stop and I could already see the hordes of others ambling amongst the cherry trees, so I decided to escape the crowds and headed for the Oyakuen, a Japanese garden built by the then ruling Aizu clan to grow medicinal plants and for relaxation. And it was relaxing, the gardens were pretty empty and I spent a pleasant hour walking round, breathing in the spring air.
Back on the bus again, this time to the Bukeyashiki, the chief retainers house. It was a pretty impressive building, many rooms, but suprisingly far from the castle, where he must have had to visit almost daily I would have thought. I got to try my hand at some archery and even managed to hit one of the tiny side-plate sized targets, though it was as much fun watching the Dads showing off their archery skills to their kids.
Here some of the some of the tragic history of Aizu comes out- the wive of the retainer killed herself and the children during the Boshin war (Meiji restoration, kind of civil war) because she thought her husband was going to die during the campaign. I definately felt the whole cultural differences here and later on when I went up Mt. Inomori where more suicides occured. By the time I reached Mt. Inomori I was feeling shattered, my brain was still at sea, but I figured I would see this, leaving the castle for the following morning.
So me and crowds (which became a familar theme) headed up the slope and steps, the lazier ones taking the escalator. I went up (and down) the weird pagoda which is very Escher like in its design inside. Then for a final push went and saw the graves of the Battosei- young samurai's who believing the castle was burning (again during the Boshin war) decided that killing themselves was the best option- one boy survived to tell the tale...there was a strange mix; on the one hand there was insense and flowers and a tragic feeling and then there were monuments to their "bravery and courage" - strangely enough some from Germany and Italy during their fascist period. I could see nothing brave or couragous about a complete waste of life.
I stumbled back down the stairs and dragged my now seriously carcass to the hotel, asleep by 6pm, not even a strong tremor disturbed me....
Bleary eyed from 2 hours sleep I stumbled into the taxi at Niigata ferry terminal. I can't say I saw much of Niigata aside from the train station and the usual apartment blocks and hotels.
The first train to Aizu Wakamatsu wasn't until 8.20 so I had more than 2 hours wait, time enough to get some breakfast and a doze in the waiting room. I dozed on the train for the first 20 mins or so as we left the city.
The sight of the first blooming sakura trees woke me up- finally some spring colours (very much missing from Sapporo). We wound up through the mountains following a large river. The journey was like passing though another time in Japan, old wooden houses and straw hatted villagers working in the fields, an old shrine in a cedar forest and a wild monkey munching by the trackside and everywhere dots of pink and flurries of pink. That and the hordes of camera's...there were crowds of middle aged/ elderly men with more camera's and tripods than any press conference crowded at stations and bridges and the like. I fairly certain that the train was a perfectly normal train so why all the uber train spotters?As we approached the Aizu Wakamatsu I got that usual faint feeling of dissappointment you get in Japan, all you could see were concrete hotels and parking lots, not a sign of the old houses or samurai past, the town is famous for. As I had arrived earlier than check in I dumped my bags in the lockers and headed off to the town bus
Most people got off at the castle stop and I could already see the hordes of others ambling amongst the cherry trees, so I decided to escape the crowds and headed for the Oyakuen, a Japanese garden built by the then ruling Aizu clan to grow medicinal plants and for relaxation. And it was relaxing, the gardens were pretty empty and I spent a pleasant hour walking round, breathing in the spring air.
Back on the bus again, this time to the Bukeyashiki, the chief retainers house. It was a pretty impressive building, many rooms, but suprisingly far from the castle, where he must have had to visit almost daily I would have thought. I got to try my hand at some archery and even managed to hit one of the tiny side-plate sized targets, though it was as much fun watching the Dads showing off their archery skills to their kids.
Here some of the some of the tragic history of Aizu comes out- the wive of the retainer killed herself and the children during the Boshin war (Meiji restoration, kind of civil war) because she thought her husband was going to die during the campaign. I definately felt the whole cultural differences here and later on when I went up Mt. Inomori where more suicides occured. By the time I reached Mt. Inomori I was feeling shattered, my brain was still at sea, but I figured I would see this, leaving the castle for the following morning.
So me and crowds (which became a familar theme) headed up the slope and steps, the lazier ones taking the escalator. I went up (and down) the weird pagoda which is very Escher like in its design inside. Then for a final push went and saw the graves of the Battosei- young samurai's who believing the castle was burning (again during the Boshin war) decided that killing themselves was the best option- one boy survived to tell the tale...there was a strange mix; on the one hand there was insense and flowers and a tragic feeling and then there were monuments to their "bravery and courage" - strangely enough some from Germany and Italy during their fascist period. I could see nothing brave or couragous about a complete waste of life.
I stumbled back down the stairs and dragged my now seriously carcass to the hotel, asleep by 6pm, not even a strong tremor disturbed me....
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Golden week- voyages in sakura land
Sorry for the length of the posts, its mainly just to provide space for the pictures. What better way to get over a nice holiday then to write and post pictures of it.....ne!?
So April 30th
"crunch pssshhhst" as we slamed into another wave. Only 16 more hours to go. I grabbed my book and ipod and headed to the upperdeck and grabbed a seat by the window. My bunk was too inside to be pleasant especially with the odd feeling weightlessness that goes with every big wave.
Leaving Otaru was pleasant enough...the shore crew waving us off as they do here (it always gives me that slight feeling of foreboding). At first it was calm though the wind was strong, gradually though as we came out of the shelter of the bay and the headland the wind and waves grew in strength, forcing my newly aquired "ferry nakama" and I inside.
After promising to meet up for some coffee later, I headed to try out the onboard onsen.
The pool was forming minature tsunami's and I wedged myself into the corner shower. It was a strange feeling to be sitting in a bath that was moving almost as much as the sea outside. After I left the onsen the opening times vanished and a tacked up sign suggested it would be unsafe to use...ah well.
Below deck was quiet save fore the creaking and crash and shudder of the waves. I made the foolish mistake of heading to the bathroom- I walked in and came back out quickly. I guess most of the women on board weren't coping with the rough conditions.
I spent most of my time sitting watching great clouds of spray blowing by the window and the steely grey sea, foaming white, until after dinner, then I tried sleeping, though I found myself putting my hand out to steady myself every so often...sleep came eventually at 2am, only to be woken 4.30 am as the car decks were being unlocked and the annoucements and lights came back on again.
Friday, 23 April 2010
Sunday, 18 April 2010
A life on the ocean waves....
*cue Great Escape music*
With the lingering itchy feet from the last holiday, I decided last week to get out of Hokkaido for golden week and see some other parts of Japan. Golden week is one of the busiest travel times, also one of the most expensive with everyone on holiday, so I had a cunning plan.
When I was little we lived near Newcastle in the north east of England, a ferry port and a truely cool place to visit if you're ever in that region. My Dad is also a keen sailor so many holidays were spent, by the sea or on the sea. We took ferries to Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway and I loved every minute of being on the ship- it feels like something from another age, almost exotic. I enjoy being on the sea, I even don't mind if its a little rough.
Japan being the island nation it is has many ferries and I've been dying to try them out. Last summer I went up to Rishiri and Rebun islands (the most northen islands of Japan), taking the ferry from Wakkanai to the islands and back again.
This time I'll be taking the ferry from Otaru to Niigata and back from Akita to Tomakomai. Whats really cool is the price- 12,800Y for the ferry (that's there and back). This is less than a flight from Sapporo to Tokyo, one way! Of course you could pay more and get a private cabin or even a first class suite, but I decided on a 2nd class berth- a bed in a 4 bunk room. There was a cheaper option of a large communal area- basically a place on the floor, but I splurged and decided on a little more privacy and comfort.
The only slight problem I've got is that I misread the timetable and thought I would be leaving Otaru at 10.30pm on the Friday and then arrive 0700 in Niigata on the Saturday. Maths was never my strong point and somehow my brain was incapable of recognising that this was considerably less time than the timetabled 18-20 hour long voyage. As I booked it yesterday at the travel agents I realised its actually a 10.30am departure from Otaru, so I'll be taking the Friday off as holiday. I'm not changing it, so that will have to stay. My return trip from Akita to Tomakomai is a day trip and I'm looking forward to passing through the Tsugaru straits between Hokkaido and Aomori in particular, that and trying out the baths on the ferry, after all this is Japan.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Back from Holiday grumps
I'm trying to be positive and happy, I mean I should be all relaxed and happy. I've just come back from 2 weeks of not thinking about work once, relaxing with my whole family- being able to catch up with everyone at the same time, re-connecting with my nieces and chilling in the pool and swimming in the sea. Not to mention the spa of heaven....
I got back from Thailand on Wednesday, popped round and saw off one of my friends whose off to Europe for a month of job hunting. Came into work for April 1st- our labs estrogen count has increased even more, which is great. I have a neighbour back on one side, and should be getting my other neighbour shortly once he's completed his tour of duty as the departmental secretary (a hellish job, I'd never want to do). Eased back into lab life- I even set up a PCR to check my newly arrived primers (which I'd spent days designing before the hols). It probably started on Friday when I ran the gel of the PCR and got a blank picture instead of glowing white bands next to the markers....
Meaning my primers are crap and its back to the drawing board. The mysterious ways of finance mean that I"m unlikely to be able to quickly get any new primers until the new finicial year kicks in properly sometime in May most likely. Seriously, why does this take so long? we've been on limited ordering powers since mid January for goodness sake.... anyway.... I shall prevail.
Got to the weekend and caught up with washing, said goodbye to yet another friend, leaving 2/3 of us for the next month for company. This year has seen many of the fellowship of foreigners departing these shores, with little prospect of meaning new ones as I've no time to take anymore Japanese courses. Thus adding to the slight empty, grumpy feeling.
I got back from Thailand on Wednesday, popped round and saw off one of my friends whose off to Europe for a month of job hunting. Came into work for April 1st- our labs estrogen count has increased even more, which is great. I have a neighbour back on one side, and should be getting my other neighbour shortly once he's completed his tour of duty as the departmental secretary (a hellish job, I'd never want to do). Eased back into lab life- I even set up a PCR to check my newly arrived primers (which I'd spent days designing before the hols). It probably started on Friday when I ran the gel of the PCR and got a blank picture instead of glowing white bands next to the markers....
Meaning my primers are crap and its back to the drawing board. The mysterious ways of finance mean that I"m unlikely to be able to quickly get any new primers until the new finicial year kicks in properly sometime in May most likely. Seriously, why does this take so long? we've been on limited ordering powers since mid January for goodness sake.... anyway.... I shall prevail.
Got to the weekend and caught up with washing, said goodbye to yet another friend, leaving 2/3 of us for the next month for company. This year has seen many of the fellowship of foreigners departing these shores, with little prospect of meaning new ones as I've no time to take anymore Japanese courses. Thus adding to the slight empty, grumpy feeling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)